Following work by the Auckland Co-Design Lab and NZIER that highlighted the benefits of holding a driver license and the barriers to gaining one; 60 people from across the Aotearoa / New Zealand driver licensing system met at PwC Pōneke’s Sandbox on Tuesday September 3, 2019 — to drive change. Driving Change Aotearoa / New Zealand Driver Licensing System What was this hui? Why did we do this? Who attended the hui? This hui involved building whākawhanaungatanga with the dozens of central and local government agencies, NGOs, and stakeholder groups involved in driver licensing; connecting with what we know about people’s experience of the driver licensing system; exploring ideas for how we might help more people gain the benefits of a driver license; and capturing and sharing those ideas in an open Trello board for participants to collaborate on following the event. A driver licence currently holds many functions beyond a licence to drive. It’s a prerequisite to many jobs, independence, a formal means of legal identification, and a positive step to participate in our economy. Families and children benefit when the drivers in their lives are able to drive legally, safely, and confidently. Communities, especially rural and remote communities, benefit when more of their people are able to access education opportunities, contribute to the care of their whānau, participate in employment, and generally take an active part in the life of their community. All of us benefit when fewer of our young people are caught up in the criminal justice system and more of our young people are able to drive with confidence, access all the opportunities that come with driving, and contribute to our country through their paid and unpaid work, including family care. Those most at risk of not having a full licence are from poorer families, with no legal car and no licenced driver to teach them; without a licence these young people are less likely to get a job , perpetuating a cycle of inequality. The people who the graduated licensing system fails risk social and economic isolation, or, if they choose to drive regardless, can face large fines and often a journey into the criminal justice system. Key S = Small sized idea M = Medium sized idea L = Large sized idea A diverse and passionate group of kiwis spanning iwi, business, community, local government,central government, philanthropic, and non-government organisations. Together we formed the Driving Change Network. Ideas from the hui for how we might help more people gain the benefits of a driver license L Explore the driver licensing journey for young people. This could be part of the school curriculum and include; participating in driving simulations, learning the theory and becoming aware of connected professional Youth Development support. This aims to enable continued learning, development support and mastery of driving safety. L Explore how new technologies, particularly driving simulators can play a role in the system, and where schools might fit in as well. L Consider what it would take to change the learner’s licence to a learner’s permit. L Explore a more coordinated national model of delivery. A ‘top-down, bottom-up approach’ where there is coordinated leadership and funding at the senior government level as well as coordinated work from a local community level. L Hand some ownership of the system back to the communities and people on the ground across New Zealand. This involves exploring an accessible national system and tapping into existing human resources, especially in isolated small towns where practical testing is not available, but some instructors are available. M Better map and connect a national network of community driver training providers. S Map the broad system and highlight key barriers or opportunities where changes could be made. S Create a meaningful and culturally relevant narrative about why and how to navigate the current driver licensing journey. S Further explore and model the economic and social return when investing into better licensing (some work has been done on this already by NZIER in 2016). S Review the penalty aspect of the current system, and explore ways to expand and work alongside the NZ Police on their Awhi referral programme. Outcomes from the hui Ways to stay involved We need a cross-agency, cross-system, coordinated, inclusive, and accessible approach to shifting our driver licensing system away from one that considers licenses as a private good, into one that recognises the social and public good that a driver license provides — in service of a thriving, just, and prosperous Aotearoa. Trello We’ve set up a Trello board as a community touch point for this network. Feel free to join us on the Trello board here. Funding • The J R McKenzie Trust, Todd Foundation and Vodafone New Zealand Foundation have committed funding to the driving change network over the next two years. • The first funding decision following the hui was to commit to a project where the current system and journey are mapped, as well as presenting a potential future journey and system. • Moving forward, the funders have devolved the decision-making regarding this spend to the steering group (a process called participatory grantmaking). Steering group This has now been formed! Meetings will be held monthly over video conference. The steering group will be facilitating a strategy planning session on the 4th December in Hamilton. We will be preparing a budget for the next year, and are looking to hire a National Coordinator to keep the momentum of this project going. If you like to be involved in in the Steering group, please contact us via the email below. Open letter to the Prime Minister Together, the network drafted and sent an open letter to the Prime Minister. We are still awaiting a response. young people face major barriers to progressing to a full licence. For more information or feedback, please contact helen.anderson@vodafone.com Thank you all again, and we’re looking forward to driving change together. Seumas, Noa, Yvonne, and Helen 70,000 – 90,000 Thank you!